The proportion of Year 1 pupils meeting the expected standard in the phonics screening check has returned to the pre-pandemic level.
However, shows 2025-26 results still falling short of the government’s target for 90 per cent to achieve the standard.
Disadvantaged pupils have performed better in the check this year but the attainment gap between them and their peers increased marginally.
And a record proportion of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities met the standard this year, although at a level still considerably behind that recorded by other pupils.
Phonics screening check results improve
In the year before the Covid pandemic, in 2018-19, the share of pupils meeting the expected standard in their Year 1 phonics screening was 82 per cent.
In 2021-22, when the phonics check resumed after two years, the proportion of pupils meeting the standard was 75 per cent. The share increased every year until 2024-25 when it remained stable at 80 per cent.
Today’s data reveals that some 82 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in their Year 1 phonics screening test this year for the first time since the tests resumed.
The share of pupils meeting the standard by the end of Year 2 remained unchanged since 2024-25, at 89 per cent.
Better results for pupils with SEND
The share of pupils with SEND meeting the expected standard in 2025-26 was 46 per cent, up 3 percentage points from the previous year and the highest level on record. When the test resumed in 2021-22, some 38 per cent of pupils with SEND met the standard.
Meanwhile, 56 per cent of pupils receiving SEND support without an education, health and care plan (EHCP) also met the standard this year, up 4 percentage points from the previous two years and the highest figure on record.
Among pupils with an EHCP, 21 per cent achieved the standard in 2025-26, the highest level since 2014-15 (25 per cent).
Disadvantage gap remains stubborn
The share of disadvantaged pupils meeting expectations in phonics rose by 1 percentage point to 68 per cent this year. Among their peers, 86 per cent met the expected standard, up from 84 per cent in 2024-25.
The attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers sits at 18 percentage points, an increase of 1 percentage point from 2024-25 and the highest level since 2021-22.
However, in 2021-22 this gap was based on disadvantaged pupils sitting at 62 per cent and their peers at 80 per cent, both six points lower than in today’s new data for 2025-26.
In the year before the pandemic, the disadvantage gap was 13 percentage points (71 per cent against 84 per cent).
Girls continue to outperform boys
Girls have outperformed boys in the phonics screening check every year since it was introduced, and that has remained the case: 86 per cent of girls met the expected standard, compared with 78 per cent of boys.
The proportion of girls meeting the expected standard was the highest since 2017-18, while the figure for boys was its highest since 2018-19.
The attainment gap between girls and boys sits at 8 percentage points, unchanged from 2024-25.
Breakdown by school type
Improvements in the share of pupils meeting the expected standard were seen in all school types last year.
Some 83 per cent of Year 1 pupils met the standard in state-funded mainstream schools (up from 81 per cent) and in local authority maintained schools the share was 82 per cent (80 per cent in 2024-25).
Meanwhile, 83 per cent of pupils in academies and free schools met the standard, an increase of 2 percentage points.
Attainment in the phonics screening check has increased in all regions compared with 2024-25, but London (84 per cent) remained the highest-performing and the North East and North West (80 per cent) the lowest.
Today’s results reveal that more than 80 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in all regions for the first time since 2018-19.
Schools minister Georgia Gould said: “Today’s results show real progress, with phonics attainment now back to pre-pandemic levels and 82 per cent of Year 1 pupils meeting the expected standard.
“That is a testament to the hard work of teachers, school leaders, families and children across the country.”
Ms Gould said the government is “determined” to close the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils and children with SEND, with curriculum reforms and the schools White Paper placing a “renewed focus on raising standards across the board”.
Scepticism over the check
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said it is “positive” to see results return to pre-Covid levels, but warned “there is no evidence that the phonics screening check itself has a positive impact on children’s reading development”.
He added: “Teachers already know which pupils need further support in reading without the need for a statutory check.”
Meg Powell-Chandler, director of the New Schools Network, described the rise in children meeting the expected standard in the phonics check as “welcome news”.
She added: “Free schools’ continued improvement year on year [in the check] and strong performance compared with other mainstream schools are cause for celebration. But the disadvantage gap and differences across the country remain and must be addressed.”
